Protectors- Final Part
by cutiepiebm
Summary: Tess comes out with her feelings to Maria


Title: Protectors Final Part

Author: cutiepie_sa

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: You know what? I don't own any of these characters, or Roswell. You know what else? I am sitting here cussing because they belong to Jason Katmis Productions and The WB, and not me. (Lucky ducks.) 

***

Tess sat on a bench in the middle of the park. She slowly twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers and sighed heavily. Her hands glided over to her knee and she rested them there, letting gravity take over her strength. ((I can't believe I did that last night. Max will never forgive me, let alone Liz. But like I care if she forgives me, she never really liked me from the beginning. I just need out of here. I need to get home, I need to get back to my normal life. My life I started with. But like that'll happen. No one else cares about going home. They just care about their love life here on this pitiful planet.)) 

A drifting leaf fell from the tree and rested on Tess' lap. She smiled and took it, twisting it by it's thin stem. Maria came walking up to the bench and Tess quickly dropped the leaf. She straightened out her face and cleared her throat.

"Can I sit here?" Maria asked quietly, indicating the open spot on the bench next to Tess.

"Sure. You're the only one that will want to." Tess breathed out.

"Um, I know that this may sound a bit awkward, and a bit unlike me, but I wanted to know how you were doing? Are you okay Tess? We were a bit worried about you the other night." 

"Am I okay? Why would I be any better? Everything remains the same. Max still doesn't like me. We're supposed to be together, Maria. Not Max and Liz." 

"Tess, I have one thing to say to you. Wake up. Okay? Max loves Liz, and he's not going to let go of her. I am sorry, but you do need to realize this. I know that you still have hope for you and Max, but the rest of us have moved on. Michael and Isabel both agree that they want to stay here with us, and that their other destiny has no effect on them. Tess, you need to let go. You need to get out, get a date. See some people or something. We thought that Kyle and you would be perfect, but obviously something is wrong with Kyle right now. We don't know how he's gonna be." 

"Maria, I am sorry. But I can't let go of Max. You know, I keep thinking that one day when I wake up that he'll just remember his life before, and remember his love for me. I still have hope that one day that will happen."

"Everyone knows that it won't work between you and Max, Tess. How come you can still hang on, be the only one that doesn't know the truth between you two?"

"Because I believe that I am the only one that does know the real truth, Maria." Tess got up and walked off, not real sure of where she was going, just walking to let out her stress, and let out her feelings.

Maria looked at her, and then rose slowly. She walked to the Crashdown and went to her locker. She slowly started to open it, and then shut it and walked out, sliding into a nearby booth and sighing heavily.

***

Isabel and Alex walked in the Crashdown, and started walking over to Maria. Isabel slid in on the other side of the booth, and Alex followed her, sitting next to her. 

"So does anybody know how Liz is doing?" Maria asked.

"Last I saw her, she was with Max, that was this morning. She looked a little upset, but not too bad. I don't think she's letting Tess get to her." Alex said.

"That's good. She needs to get on, after all what's happened to her. So where's Michael, Maria?" Isabel asked.

Maria smiled and said, "You know what? He said that he had something to do this morning and he would meet me here, now in about five minutes. I don't know what he's up to. I know that he was mad at Tess for the party, but I don't know what he's doing. This isn't like him."

"I'm sure he'll show up. Well, Isabel and I were about to go see a movie tonight. Wanna come with Michael?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, we could all meet at my place. It'll be fun. How 'bout it?" Isabel chimed.

"Sure. You know what? I think Liz and Max would like to come too. If I see them, I'll tell them." Maria said, smiling.

Alex rose and slipped out of the booth. He took Isabel's hand and they walked out of the Crashdown. Maria sat there, staring at her nails, and then Michael walked in. He had a big goofy grin on his face.

"Hey, what's up?" Maria chimed.

"Well.... I know that you are getting annoyed at Tess, and I know that you are getting stressed out with everything that's going on, so I grabbed these for us. Well, my parents helped out a little, but I thought that they would be nice." He said, sliding into the seat next to Maria.

She took an envelope from his hands, and opened it slowly. She pulled out a brochure, and opened it up. A picture of an apple was across the front, and inside large buildings and gardens were pasted around. In the middle in bold, were the words New York City. Maria screamed.

"Michael, you're taking me on a trip to NYC! Really?" She screamed breathlessly.

"Yeah. I thought that you needed a little shopping time, you know, just wander around and not care about anything for a week or two. So, how about it? We could leave whenever you want. The only part is we'll have to use your car, but I'll pay for the gas, sorry. Well?" He smiled.

"Michael, I don't know what to say." 

"Do you like it?" 

"Of course. In fact, let's leave tomorrow. Tonight we can tell the others, since we're going over there for a movie and such. Thanks, Michael." 

Maria smiled at him, and she hugged him. He held her for a moment, and then they got up and walked out of the cafe, hand in hand.

***

Max took Liz's hand and led her over to the couch. They curled up on it together, and Isabel walked into the room and popped in a tape. Alex brushed past her and set a bowl of popcorn on the table. Maria walked over to Michael and she leaned up against him in the chair. Isabel sat on the floor and Alex sat behind her, leaning against the table and Isabel resting her head on his chest. The previews started to show and Maria shifted uncomfortably.

"You guys? I got something to tell you. Well, you know Michael's surprise? He's taking me to NYC tomorrow. Isn't that great?" She said quietly.

Everyone shifted their gaze to the couple sitting on the chair. Michael smiled. "It's only for a week or two. I thought that Maria needed some time off. What do you think?" 

"That's great. You two will have fun. Max, you should do something like that." Liz said playfully.

"Sorry Liz. How about a night in the desert instead? Stars? Wine? Hmm?" He said.

Liz laughed. Isabel and Alex sat there, stunned. The movie came on, the light protruding into the dark room. Maria shifted her body so it was more into Michael's. He smiled, and kissed the top of her head.

They sat there in silence, watching the movie. When it was over Liz grabbed the remote and turned the television off. The room went black. Lightening struck outside, and rain started to pound at the windows. Alex pulled up a blanket and covered him and Isabel with it. They all fell asleep there. Tess gone, Kyle gone, everything perfect. Liz smiled. ((Everything is perfect.)) 


End file.
